Nehemiah - History

In 1990, my wife Lois and I came to England from America to help hurting people get their lives sorted out. We were responding to the plight of the homeless in London, and it was this that motivated us to establish Nehemiah as a registered charity.

Our first year in London we spent helping those in need in the Earls Court area. During this time we saw, first hand, the chronic problems with which so many individuals struggle whether the issues be emotional, relational or physical.

We then realised that helping someone make lasting changes in their live requires more than simply providing short-term aid or accommodation. We needed to provide safe and structured homes where hurting individuals could live for an extended period of time while they dealt with the root causes of their problems such as family breakdown, addiction, poverty or unemployment.

Since this time we have developed a structured residential programme which has helped men from all over the country to find freedom from the emotional and behavioural bonds of the past.

The charity has seen many people's lives change and it has been with great pleasure that we have welcomed several of our graduates back onto our staff team. For the first nine years of the ministry we operated in properties provided by two very generous housing associations, and then in 1999 we purchased our own rehabilitation centre in Streatham, South London.

It has been an incredible privilege to have seen many, many people give to this ministry, over 1 million pounds was donated to purchasing our rehabilitation centre and I thank each and everyone of you who has made a contribution.

Setting up this charity has been an amazing personal journey for my wife and I. Seeing people who have been written off by the world becoming contributing members of society again is a continual and incredible joy for which I thank God. I thank all the people who have made this possible and I hope that you too can share in the joy of seeing our residents transformed.

Wendell Smith
Founder & Managing Director